I need some help & advice for backyard birding. if there are any birders, plz help me!!!?

Question

Hi everyone, Im from India & i luv watching, listening & helping birds. Which is why i've decided 2 setup some birdhouses, bird-feeders & bird-baths as well. But, all the information given in the net is mostly about american birds...nothing about indian birds or in general. So, if there's any good birder( indian birder will help) , I'd really appreciate it if u cud help me. I'd like 2 know if a backyard pond or a feeder is better? what are the various types of feeders & houses 4 birds & when & where do i put them? what food?

Answer 1

The good news is that many of the rules that apply to North American birds apply to Indian species ^.^ . What you'll want to provide is a wide variety of fruits, veggies and seeds, as well as different feeding platforms. Tall skinny feeders are good for the woodpeckers. Large swinging feeders are good for the perching birds who have lots of dexterity. For heavier, less agile birds, you want a large swinging feeder nailed to a post. Humming bird feeders are excellent for the hanging parrots, sun birds and any other nectar eating species.

Sun birds and hanging parrots will appreciate fruit such as oranges, melons and lemon. Sun birds will also use humming bird feeders but might need perches as they're not quite as acrobatic as humming birds. Fruit pigeons, thrushes, woodpeckers and avadavats will relish Apples and local berries.

Large nuts and seeds will attract the larger parrots (Note: I'm not sure how common alexandrine and plum headed parakeets are where you are). Traditional wild bird mix will attract the smaller guys such as finches, **** and buntings. Plant bushes or flowers that will attract butterflies and caterpillars. Smaller birds need insects during the breeding season and anything like that will be of help. Tall grass will attract insect loving and shy bird species.

Keep a smaller bird bath to attract the water crazy species. Even a large bird bath filled with sand will attract dust bathers! Many sparrows will eagerly plunge into a pan of dust. If you had to chose between ta bird bath and feeders, I'd go with the feeders. It attracts more birds in the end. Just remember to pull the feeders every few months and clean them out good!

If you live out in the country and if your laws accept it, you can leave road kill out for the hawks, eagles and vultures. Farmers out here will leave deer out during the winter to feed Bald Eagles and the numerous hawks. Perhaps a tamer version of that would be having a Koi pond. Kingfishers, crows and hawks love stuff like that ^.^ .

Regarding bird houses - it gets a bit complicated. A good source for bird house information are web sites on aviary birds. Some finches will use small wooden boxes that are closed on 5 and a half sides. Others will use the standard American bird house which is about 6 inches high by six inches deep and with a 1 inch hole. Parrots will use wood boxes of various sizes filled with wood pieces - you may have to check out some conservation sites for more information on that. Parrots are nest hole breeders so anything deep and dark will suffice. Some breeders use long hollowed out. I'm not sure what hanging parrots use, so again, you may have to contact a conservationist web site. You can help birds build their own nests by putting up bundles of twine cut to one inch pieces. Even leaving out bundles of hay found at pet shops suffice! I wouldn't use cat or dog hair though, as the saliva on the hairs can kill a bird in a few days. I see nothing wrong using horse, sheep or goat hairs though.

I hope I've not overwhelmed you! I can be a bit long winded when it comes to wildlife :-D . Good luck!

Answer 2

I also live in North America, but I have birded in other countries. If you want to attract birds its pretty much the same world wide. Birds need 3 things, food, water and cover.

Food is the easiest to provide. You want to provide a variety of items. Seed is the first thing. I am not sure what is available in India, but if you can get sunflower seed its well accepted by most birds. Fruit is great to put out. Cut oranges, grapes and other cut up fruit will attract some really colorful birds for you.

Water can be either in a birdbath or pond. You need to make sure the birds have a place that is shallow enough to bathe if you do a pond. You can put some stones in so the water is very shallow. If you can provide a drip so the water makes some noise, that will really bring them in.

Cover can be provided by putting in plants on different levels. Trees, of course, are good, but lower shrubs and flowers are also needed to give the birds places to feel comfortable when they are coming in. Native plants are always best, as they also provide food. Bird houses really are not a big draw, but you could get a few birds in them.

Good luck! I hope you get lots of birds!

Answer 3

Found this site http://www.wild-india.com/WildConservation/bird-watching.html which might help. I put birds of India in the search box for Yahoo.